Autism and the World That’s Coming

Let’s talk about autism.

Not the sterilized, sainted version - the quirky genius on screen. Not the misunderstood loner at the edge of the school dance. Not even the battle cry of “awareness” that too often becomes a euphemism for control. I mean autism as it really lives. The way it colors everything. The way it rewires expectations. The way it burns off what doesn’t serve.

Not Broken People, Broken Systems

If you’ve been here a minute, you'll remember the moldy teddy bear metaphor from my recent ADHD is a revolution post. The old systems, so comforting to traditionalists? They’re held together by norms that never fit everyone - stitched up with outdated expectations and sprayed with Febreze to hide the rot. The real problem was never pulling neuroX people away from that bear. It was society insisting we hug it harder.

For many autistic people, that pressure to mask, mimic, and mute themselves has been relentless. In classrooms. In healthcare. At the dinner table. They’ve been told they’re too much and not enough - sometimes in the same harsh breath.

But what if their brains are exactly what this changing world needs?

Autism as Adaptation, Not Error

"Neurodivergence Growth from Broken Systems" Illustration

This world is full of complexity, contradiction, and collapsing systems. The old linear, black-and-white way of seeing things? It’s crumbling. Thinkers who rock the spectrum often see what others miss. They spot patterns. They go deep. They process the world differently - and that difference is a form of brilliance, not a flaw.

Plainly said: autism isn’t a condition to overcome. It’s a fundamentally different way of experiencing the world. And in a time where old infrastructures are breaking down, those differences are revealing new ways forward.

Let’s Kill the Cause-and-Fix Framework

The obsession with explaining autism away is dangerous. Vaccines. Peanut butter. Wi-Fi. Just stop. It doesn’t matter how often these theories are debunked - people cling to them because if they can blame something, they can fix it.

But autism isn’t a mistake. Our children are not mistakes. And trying to isolate it like a contaminant isn't just wrong - it’s ominous.

The idea of collecting data on who is autistic and who might be? That’s not science. That’s surveillance. Please pay attention to RFK right now. When governments start building registries, especially under leaders with a history of conspiratorial thinking, it’s not about care. It’s about control. And history has shown us where that path leads.

Shifting the Story

So how do we shift the story?

Not by trading one stereotype for another. Not by casting autistic people as magical savants or tragic enigmas. But by respecting the full spectrum of their experiences, needs, and strengths.

By making space for autistic joy, autistic rest, autistic expression.

Let me be clear: autism isn’t a quirk or a costume. It’s not a diagnosis to be “overcome.” It’s a fundamental rewiring of how a brain experiences the world. And it’s always been here. The world is just finally weird and interesting enough to need that specialization.

The Institute of Neurodiversity is one of the groups imagining the way forward. They’re advocating globally for autistic and neurodivergent individuals to be heard, respected, and supported. I’ll be following their work because of this core belief: when we specialize and collaborate with other specialists, we move forward in ways before undreamed.

It's time to let go (or at least clean up) unhealthy security objects and ideas.

One Last Thing

If you’re still clinging to the moldy bear - because it’s what you were handed, or because it’s what you thought was safe - it’s okay. You don’t have to let go all at once.

But maybe look around.

There are people building better stories now. Safer ones. Ones that hold more truth and more room.

And maybe the best thing we can do for those with autism and the world that's coming -  especially those of us who aren’t autistic - is to stop rewriting others’ scripts and start listening to their lines.